Fire, Ice and Blood
by Ms Shay X Pear
Summary: She was the fire to his ice... the one woman he'd ever felt anything for. He was her maker, her lover, her reason for being. And she thought they would have forever...
1. Chapter 1 Angel of Death

Chapter 1: Angel of Death

She was almost dead when he found her.

Bruised. Broken. Bleeding. Spread-eagled on her back, eyes closed, flaming hair fanned around her face, porcelain skin marred with black and purple.

And her shirt and long denim skirt stained crimson… with her blood.

He could smell it. The coppery sweetness filled his nostrils… teasing him… taunting him… burning the back of his throat and turning his eyes black with bloodlust. He hadn't fed for days. He was thirsty.

There were 3 men standing around her lifeless body. Thugs. Criminals. Lowlifes. He barely even noticed them as he started to advance towards her… his movements' fluid, graceful, predatory.

The men froze as he approached… faces uncertain as they took him in. His cold, black eyes… his pale, icy skin, his long blond hair tied back in a ponytail… his lean hard body encased in a long black trench-coat.

They seemed to be wondering whether he was a threat. Or whether he was planning on running their fun.

One of them attacked from the side… fist swinging towards the left side of his head. He grabbed it and twisted, breaking the man's arm without taking his eyes of the girl. A smirk came over his face as the man yelped in pain.

He let him go, letting him fall in a heap to the ground. The man looked at him with wide frightened eyes before leaping to his feet and scurrying back down the dark alley.

The other two men seemed to take the incapacitation of their comrade personally. One drew a knife form his sock while the other produced a gun… both men's eyes blazing with hostility. He laughed… the wild, crazy, menacing sound sending a shiver down their spine.

The men with the gun fired, eyes widening in fear as the bullet failed to do any damage at all.

He drew back his upper lip... exposing his teeth as he snarled, . The inhuman sound and gesture send shivers of fear down their spine. They knew he was something entirely unnatural.

They froze for a moment before dropping their weapons and fleeing the same way as their friend.

Finally he was alone with her… the dying woman… the tasty one… the one who's who blood was calling to him like a siren. He couldn't remember ever wanting someone's blood more. She smelled… mouthwatering.

He crouched down beside her and brushed copper stands of hair away from her face. He was startled to see how beautiful she was… even bruised and bloody. Her face was oval… with fine delicate features… and full, luscious lips.

And despite her doll like prettiness her features had a toughness, a hardness that hinted at inner strength… and a fiery personality.

She was the loveliest thing he had ever seen… and she was dying. He could feel her heart beats slowing… her pulse beating weakly in her exposed neck. There was nothing to stop him. Nothing to prevent him from slaking his first… draining her life away.

Every thing in him was telling him to bite her… but he hesitated.

Her eyelids fluttered… slowly opening to reveal bright green eyes. Even though the light in them was already fading… he saw them focus on him.

"Are you the angel of death?" she asked; voice so soft that even with his acute senses he could barely hear her. "Yes" he whispered gently.

A smile spread slowly over her lovely face and her eyes fluttered closed.

He could feel her slipping away and he could no longer resist the temptation of her blood

He struck like a cobra… again and again… the delicious taste of her blood filling his mouth. He couldn't believe how good it was. He had thought she has smelled mouthwatering… but compared to the actual taste…

And then the unthinkable happened. He stopped.

Though the taste of her blood was irresistible… and he was a predator… a hunter… he somehow couldn't bring himself to end her life… to close those green eyes forever. And yet… she was dying already.

Her only chance was the venom that was now coursing through her veins… changing her… making her less human … immortal… like him.

He froze for a moment… for the first time paralyzed with indecision. Kill her… or save her? End her life… or give her a new one?

Long moments passed in which he didn't move at all.

He slowly realized if he had been able to bring himself kill her she'd be dead already. Why had he stopped? What was so special about this woman?

He didn't know the answer to either of these questions… but he knew he could neither kill her… nor leave her there.

So James picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all… and carried her off into the night.


	2. Chapter 2 Pheonix from the Ashes

Chapter 2 – Phoenix from the Ashes

Victoria knew she wasn't dead.

She knew it because of the fierce pain searing every inch of her body. It was like being burned alive. She couldn't move… couldn't think... couldn't breathe. The pain was her whole world.

If she could have spoken she would have screamed… would have begged for death. Anything to end her suffering.

She had no idea how long she lay there… minutes… hours… days… or weeks.

Slowly the pain started to retreat … withdrawing from her fingers and toes… then her arms and legs… till it was only in around her chest.

Her eyes fluttered open as the pain finally faded away. She felt strength rush back through her as the high, dusty cream coloured ceiling swam into view. Unusually clear view.

She blinked as she realized she could see details clearly that she shouldn't have been able to see. The slight crack where the paint was peeling… the place where one of the beams was chipped…. the pattern of the spider web in the corner…

She slowly sat up. A glance around the room told her she hadn't been imagining things. Her vision was sharper than it had ever been. Every detail of the room seemed close and immediate. The silvery, moth eaten curtains… the elegant, old-fashioned peeling wallpaper… the antique furniture in very stages of disrepair… the large curtained four-poster bed she was sitting on… the thick layer of dust coating the wooden floor.

Victoria closed her eyes for a moment. This new clarity in her vision was rather dizzying. And she could feel a fierce burning in the back of her throat.

She opened her eyes again and looked down at herself. She was wearing a dark green shirt and a long denim skirt. The shirt was missing several buttons and both items were smeared with dust and dried blood. Her blood?

She screwed her eyes shut and tried to remember what happened. It was all so hazy. She remembered dancing at a club… drinking… leaving the club and walking home… realising she had taken a wrong turn when she found herself in a dark alley. She remembered being grabbed by the arms… foul breath on the back of her neck… struggling fiercely… something hard hitting the side of her head. Her memory was mercifully vague after that.

The urge to panic was near overwhelming when she realized she had no memory of how she got there but she forced it down. By rights she should be dead now. Surely anything was better than that.

When she opened her eyes and looked down at her hands she got a shock. Her skin… once lightly tanned… was now pale and ever-so-slightly luminous. She ran a finger along her arm. To her alarm and shock her skin was now as smooth, cool and hard as marble.

What else had changed? She lifted a piece of her hair in front of her face. It had always been a deep, vibrant red but now it was the color of flame. It seemed to shine in the dim light that filtered through the tattered drapes.

With a curious foreboding she slid of the bed and walked on bare feet (where had her boots gone?) over to a large mirror that was standing on the floor.

A sheet was draped over it and only one corner was visible. She tugged at the sheet, letting it fall to the ground. Her breath sucked in with a gasp as she took in her appearance.

Her skin was deathly pale and her eyes were bright red with dark shadows under them. But despite this she had never looked more beautiful. Inhumanly beautiful.

Suddenly there was someone behind her. She wouldn't have had even a split-second warning if she hadn't seen the flash of movement in the mirror.

She whipped around, striking out with her foot. She got a brief impression of a long black coat, pale skin and a blonde ponytail as the man who had coming up behind her flew through the air, connecting heavily with the wall and crumpling to the floor.

Dust and plaster fell down in sheets. She couldn't help being amazed at her own speed and strength.

Anger and thirst flashed through her as he jumped to his feet. Her throat was on fire… and she hated being startled like that.

Before he could do any more she was there, grabbing him by the front of his coat and slamming him into the wall with a snarl.

The feral look on her face gave way to puzzlement and disappointment as she realized he didn't smell like prey. He smelled… really good…

A memory came to her head… dull and colorless but rich in detail. A beautiful male bending over her… with long blonde hair and black eyes… and pale skin.

"You…" she said in almost a gasp. "I thought you were an angel…" she said softly. Looking at him now she could see how she could have been mistaken. He had features as fine as flawless as a Michelangelo statue. He was… beautiful.

And she knew one thing for sure. He wasn't human. No human was so breathtakingly perfect.

She slowly put him down, her eyes never leaving his face. His skin was as pale as hers. She reached out to lightly touch the side of his face. She visibly flinched to find it was exactly the same texture and temperature as hers.

"What the hell are you?" she breathed.


	3. Chapter 3 To Catch a Thief

Chapter 3 - To Catch a Thief

Victoria revelled in the glorious feeling of speed and liquid movement as she followed James through the cool dark forest.

She found she was able to enjoy the sensation even though part of her mind was still reeling from the revelations of the past hour. And another part was occupied with the growing thirst that was savagely burning the back of her throat… threatening to overpower everything else.

Her first reaction on finding out that she was now a vampire had been fury. How dare he change her without her consent? Even though she had been dying… even though she would have chosen this over death… she still wished it had been _her_ choice. For all he knew she might have prefered to die.

Victoria had been inches from attacking him when he told her what he'd done… and she could tell he'd been surprised when she didn't.

After the fury had come the excitement… the exhilaration. She had never felt more alive… more powerful… more graceful… more beautiful. She had barely been able to recognise herself in the mirror. Even when she was human she had turned heads… but the vampire venom had changed her lovely features till they were perfect. She had gone from merely beautiful… to dazzling.

However she couldn't help thinking she would look a lot better when she was clean… and had some new clothes. James had promised her they would get some new clothes as soon as they'd hunted. A wise decision. Even now the burning in her throat was testing the edges of her self-control. Allthough she couldn't wait to get ou of those clothes… hutning was clearly the priority. And though biting and killing humans would have bothered her when she was human… she was something new now. Something far surperior to a weak little human. They were prey… and she… she was the ultimate predator.

Her flaming waves of hair fanned out behind her as she ran… crimson eyes on the vampire in front of her. She had to admit… even from behind the veiw was excellent. Particularly from behind she thought with a glance at the jeans that clung to his perfect ass. She never seen anyone as close to perfection as him. Yes all vampires were unnaturally attractive (so they could get close to their prey James had told her) … but something told her this male… this James… was handsome even by vampiric standards.

Suddenly a scent hit her nostril so hard it distracted her completely from her lustful thoughts… hit her so hard it almost sent her reeling.

Blood. Human blood. There was someone nearby… more than one someone.

Both vampires slowed, sniffing the air… taking in the heady scent of their prey. It was near overwhelming to the newborn vampire to smell the blood running through these people's veins. The burning sensation increased, making a low growl escape her throat.

He put an arm in front of her and crept forward. She followed closely… anxious to get her teeth into one of these unsuspecting humans that smelled so good.

As they reached the shadows at the edge of the forest they could see a park… a young woman walking briskly along the path not far from them. Victoria saw in a second they weren't the only ones watching the woman. A stocky middle-aged in black man was creeping up behind the unsuspecting woman, keeping to the natural shadows in order to avoid being spotted.

A low hiss escaped Victoria's throat as she watched the man get closer and closer to his victim.

Suddenly the man broke into a run, sprinting past his victim and grabbing her purse as he ran. The woman let out a cry of shock and dismay as the man bolted for the cover of the forest.

In flash she was flying through the bush, instinctively picking the best place to ambush him.

He barely had time to cry out before she was upon him, tearing his skin with razor sharp teeth… enjoying the rich, salty, coppery, taste of blood. She was lost in it. It was a few moments before she realized the man was dead… and her mouth and clothing were smeared with his blood. But that didn't seem to matter compared to the relief at satiating that awful thirst.

She straightened up, feeling eyes on the back of her head. James was standing behind her, leaning against a tree… a grin curving his lips. She grinned back, pushing her flaming hair out of her face. "Not bad for your first time" he said satisfiedly. "He was easy" she said nonchalantly, only her eyes showing her pleasure at the complement.

Suddenly he was standing right in front of her… close enough for her smell his delicious scent… close enough to touch… if she was brave enough.

"You're a natural…" he said… his voice low and husky. She could see the heat in his eyes. Even blood-splattered and dirty he clearly found her desirable. And she wanted him… god did she want him. Just the thought of having him sent a shiver of anticipation up her spine.

She didn't know who moved first. One moment he was looking at her like a cat that has spotted a mouse… and the next he was jerking her to him… crushing her mouth with his… kissing her forcefuly… fiercely…possessively… moulding his body to hers…

It made her feel giddy… drunk to have his lips and hands on her. A far from unpleasant sensation… though it did feel strange to kiss someone she barely knew. Not something she usually did. But then again she'd never met anyone who affected her like this before.

Then as quickly as he'd started he stopped… leaving her feeling rather breathless… despite the fact she no longer needed air.

"Les get you out of those clothes" he said with a grin. "I'm driving" she said smugly, holding up the keys to the woman's convertible.


End file.
